Day 1 - The Adventure Begins:
After your flight arrives into South Africa via Cape Town International Airport, you will be transferred to your hostel, where you will be spending your first night.
Day 2 - Transferred to Project Site:
In the morning, you will be met by a project representative and transferred to the project site in Kleinbaai. On arrival in Kleinbaai, you will be taken out on the boat as a guest to spot some sharks and really get your project off to a good start! After your trip, you will return to the project site where you will have the chance to settle in.
Day 3-14 - Project Days:
The volunteer programme is primarily focused on the project's Great white shark cage diving eco-tourism and you will enjoy regular trips to sea to view and cage dive with the great whites and other shark species in the area. You probably have the opportunity to participate in the following activities:
Cage diving
Project facilitators use a specially designed and secure six-man steel cage to conduct dives. This floats on the surface, and divers are no more than 1m below the surface at any point. As a shark conservation volunteer, you will be taught how to get in and out of the cage and how to remain secure and safe while inside. Cage divers are responsible for recording shark observations, including their sex, size, markings and behaviour.
Shark Field Research Data Collection
You will be taught how to collect data in the field on free-swimming sharks. At sea, you'll be focused on working with the sharks from above and below the water, observing behaviour and the interactions of sharks around the boat and pointing out any sharks you spot. You will be learning about the behaviour of different shark species, their history, and the urgent need for research and wider shark conservation initiatives. You will also receive lectures on their biology, shark conservation, and status in the waters of the cape.
Basic Seamanship and Boat Skills
All volunteers are also taught basic seaman skills including boat handling on board in a practical environment. This includes general boat maintenance, packing and cleaning of equipment and bait, anchor positioning (deployment and retrieval), cage deployment (attachment and retrieval), knots, assisting clients as needed, as well as general safety and good safe crewing practices.
Shark Tagging
To ensure the sustainable use of South Africa's fish resources, the team is assisting the Oceanographic Research Institute's Cooperative Fish Tagging Project (ORI-CFTP). As a volunteer, you will help by identifying specific small shark species, including (but not limited to) pyjama, shy and leopard cat sharks, when out snorkelling, tagging the animals and noting down their measurements before releasing them. If the same shark is caught again, the measurements will be re-taken to help the team monitor the growth rate and give them an idea of their movements.
Other Species Monitoring
There are many other marine species to be found in the area, two of which are the bronze whaler shark and the short-tail stingray. At present, the team are conducting research on these two particular species with the aim of monitoring the populations to identify if environmental factors are impacting their activity. You will be involved in collecting data about these animals when you come across them, including their sex, size, individual markings and behaviour. Time is also spent in De Kelders where snorkelling takes place among the kelp forest to spot and identify other marine life.
Assisting at Swop-Shop
Every Tuesday, you will help out at the ‘Swop Shop’, a project that promotes recycling, environmental awareness, sustainable practices, and self-reliance, which also helps to provide for the needs of the local children. The project encourages these children to collect recyclable rubbish and litter from the street and from their homes. They then earn points for what they collect, and this can be used to ‘buy’ school stationery and clothes in the Swop-Shop.
Day 15 - Final Day:
This is your final day and you will leave the project site to go back to Cape Town to transfer to the airport for an evening return flight or commence independent travel plans.
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